Vivian is a major character in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Vivian originally worked as a member of the villainous Shadow Sirens alongside her sisters, Beldam and Marilyn. Later, Vivian defects from the Shadow Sirens and joins Mario as his fifth party member. She is consistently put down by her oldest sister, Beldam, and has had a poor relationship with both her sisters for quite some time when Mario meets her. Although she suffers from an inferiority complex throughout the events of the game, she learns to respect herself as she travels with Mario. In the original Japanese version of the game and some translations, Vivian is depicted as transgender, identifying as female but, due to the age rating the localizers were aiming at when translating Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[1], this is lost in the English version and she is described only with feminine pronouns[2].

History

Paper Mario series

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Vivian after being defeated.

Vivian's first appearance in the game is during the interlude following Chapter 1, during which she and her two sisters are sent by Sir Grodus to ambush Mario in the Boggly Woods. When Mario arrives there, however, he learns that the picture they were to use to identify him was misplaced by Beldam, who is quick to blame Vivian for the loss. Mario is forced to battle the sisters when he comes to claim Flurrie's Necklace, which Vivian had found in the woods. Upon her defeat, she departs with Marilyn and Beldam, leaving the necklace behind.

Vivian with the real Mario (as a shadow) facing against Doopliss

After Mario's name and appearance are stolen by Doopliss, Vivian appears in Twilight Town alongside her sisters, who plan to defeat Mario using a Superbombomb. When the weapon turns up missing, however, Vivian is once again blamed and sent to find it. When Mario finds the bomb and returns it to her, it turns out to be broken, but she gives him a kiss to thank him for his help and, after learning of the theft of his identity, resolves to return the favor by helping him, unaware that he is truly Mario. Using her powers, Mario eventually learns Doopliss's real name, and the duo corners him at the top of Creepy Steeple.

Upon learning Mario's identity, Vivian is reluctant to assist in the ensuing battle, though she returns to his side after two turns, having decided that he treats her better than her sisters and is more deserving of her help. Following Doopliss's defeat, Mario stands up for Vivian when she is questioned by his other partners; she ultimately thanks him by handing him the Ruby Star and thus joins Mario's team.

At the very end of Mario's adventure, Beldam and Marilyn end their villainous activities and promise not to mistreat Vivian again. When Mario is preparing to leave Rogueport, Vivian is about to tell Mario that she has a crush on him, but decides otherwise, saying that she thinks he and Princess Peach will make a good couple.

Super Paper Mario

In Super Paper Mario, Vivian appears as a Catch Card won by winning the Duel of 100 in the Sammer's Kingdom. Francis also has a Vivian plush doll and there is a painting of her along with Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, Yoshi, Bobbery, and Ms. Mowz in Mario's house. Like Mario's other past partners, there is unused sprite data for Vivian, suggesting that they were originally going to appear in Super Paper Mario, but were removed during development.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Vivian appears as a Sticker. Her sticker is small and increases the attack power of energy related attacks by 5. Her sticker can be used by any character.

General information

Gender

In the original Japanese script of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Beldam insults Vivian by calling her ｢オトコ」, "a man". In the English localisation of the game, Beldam uses gender-neutral insults instead.

In the Japanese version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Vivian is a transgender girl. Other characters, as well as narrative text, describe Vivian using masculine terms such as otoko "man", and otōto "little brother".[3][4][5][6] However, Vivian initially describes the shadow sirens as san shimai "three sisters",[3] and routinely uses the feminine first person pronoun atai. This continues in Super Paper Mario; Vivian's catch card describes her using the term otoko no ko "boy".[7]

In the English and German localisations of the game, all masculine descriptions of Vivian are removed, and she is portrayed as a cisgender girl. Consequently, the nature of some of Beldam's insults towards Vivian was altered, as they originally focused on her masculinity. However, all other localised versions of the game retain the transgender portrayal.[1][8][9][10]

Powers and abilities

Outside of battle, Vivian possesses the same ability Lady Bow has in Paper Mario, but Vivian's works differently, as instead of literally turning invisible, Vivian can pull Mario into her shadow, where they can hide. This allows them to get past objects that move over them and avoid sight from enemies and their attacks. Vivian possesses the strongest magic of any partner in the game.

One of the Shadow Sirens and Beldam's youngest sister. She's so cute, she's able to infatuate anyone.

Tattle

That's Vivian. She's the youngest of the three Shadow Sirens. Max HP is 10, Attack is 1, and Defense is 0. She doesn't seem all that noteworthy. Uh... She is kinda cute, I guess... She might even be cuter than I am... I guess... ...Uh... What am I thinking?

On-field tattle

Mario is only able to use Tattle on her in Chapter 2.

This is the youngest sister of the three. The oldest one REALLY picks on her, huh? I don't know whose picture they're talking about, but you think she really lost it? – Goombella

For this reason, Vivian is the only party member in Mario's Tattle Log.

If the player looks through Professor Frankly's trash can after fighting the Shadow Sirens, Vivian's Tattle is found while Marilyn's and Beldam's are absent. This foreshadows that Vivian's joining the party while Marilyn and Beldam are fought later, since only Tattles of one-time enemies are found in the trash.

If the player performs Veil's stylish command after all enemies are defeated, no Star Power is awarded.